Friday, June 05, 2009

Frequent readers of this site know that I work at Dixon Schwabl, an advertising, marketing and public relations firm here in lovely Rochester, NY. Lately we’ve had a lot of pregnancies in the agency with new babies popping out every couple weeks or so. Yesterday, to celebrate this grassroots Baby Boom, we held a “Family Stimulus Party”. Actually, it was just a convenient excuse to throw a party. The highlight – for me anyways – was a performance by Job Order, a ska/rock/pop/party band made up of employees (and one honorary employee) of Dixon Schwabl. Take a guess who was on tenor sax.

I bring this up not just to show off but because this morning, (it’s now 5:45am on Friday) I feel a lot like I do six months after I launch a new book. That thrilling moment when you’re on stage is comparable to the rush you feel when your book first hits the stands, but now, hours after my ears have stopped ringing, it's quite similar to that lull that descends the further you get from the big launch. You look back at the fun you had and wonder if it will ever be that good again and you want it to happen soon. But more than anything, you want to jump right back in and start with something new.

Yesterday before the “gig” (that’s a term we hip musicians use – it means “performance” – non-musicians should refer to it as a “show”, man), I brought in a CD with 20+ new songs I want the band to consider. Granted, according to The Rules, I get to formally suggest only two songs, one of which the band will accept and add to the repertoire. (This last round I somehow managed to sneak 2 songs onto the set list – the Ska-J version of Minnie the Moocher, and a ska version of You Can’t Always Get What You Want which was similar to the version done by Band From TV.) For some reason, these new, as yet unpicked, unpracticed and unperformed songs were more interesting than the songs we were about to perform. It’s just like the feeling that many (most?) authors experience about three-quarters of the way through the book they’re working on, when all these ideas come about the next book they want to start, even before they are completely finished with the last one.

I’m sure the band will take a few weeks off from practicing, but I bet that every one of the band members is secretly itching to jump right back in and start over with new stuff. And I bet that each one has great memories about the show yesterday, but they have bigger hopes for the next gig. My bandmates may not be published authors, but right now they know just what it feels like.

[And because I know you want to know, Job Order is Shad Froman on lead vocals, Kathy Phelps and Wayne Gormont on lead and backup vocals, Bruce Rice on lead guitar, Bob Hotchkiss on rhythm guitar, Mike Sperber on bass, Matt Bielewicz on keyboards, bongos, harmonica and hand cymbals, Will Bower on drums, Mike Schwabl on vibraslap and yours truly on tenor sax.]

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Rick Blechta writes on Tuesdays

Barbara Fradkin writes on alternate Wednesdays

Sybil Johnson writes on Alternate Wednesdays

Donis Casey writes on alternate Thursdays

John Corrigan writes on alternate Thursdays

Charlotte Hinger writes on alternate Fridays

Frankie Bailey writes on Alternate Fridays

Vicki Delany writes on the second weekend of every month

Mario Acevedo writes on the 4th Saturday of each month

Aline Templeton

Aline Templeton lives in Edinburgh in a house with a balcony overlooking the beautiful city skyline. Her series featuring DI Marjory Fleming is set in beautiful Galloway, in South-west Scotland. alinetempleton.co.uk

Rick Blechta

Rick has two passions in life, mysteries and music, and his thrillers contain liberal doses of both. He has two upcoming releases, Roses for a Diva, his sequel to The Fallen One, for Dundurn Press, and for Orca’s Rapid Reads series, The Boom Room, a second book featuring detectives Pratt & Ellis. You can learn more about what he’s up to at www.rickblechta.com. From the musical side, Rick leads a classic soul band in Toronto. Check out SOULidifiedband.com. And lastly, being a former line cook with an interest in all things culinary, he has a blog dedicated to food: A Man for All Seasonings.

Barbara Fradkin

Barbara Fradkin is a retired psychologist with a fascination for how we turn bad. Her dark short stories haunt the Ladies Killing Circle anthologies, but she is best known for her award-winning series featuring the quixotic, exasperating Ottawa Police Inspector Michael Green, published by Dundurn Press. The ninth book, The Whisper of Legends, was published in April 2013. Visit Barbara at barbarafradkin.com.

Sybil Johnson

Sybil Johnson’s love affair with reading began in kindergarten with “The Three Little Pigs.” Visits to the library introduced her to Encyclopedia Brown, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle and a host of other characters. Fast forward to college where she continued reading while studying Computer Science. After a rewarding career in the computer industry, Sybil decided to try her hand at writing mysteries. Her short fiction has appeared in Mysterical-E and Spinetingler Magazine, among others. Originally from the Pacific Northwest, she now lives in Southern California where she enjoys tole painting, studying ancient languages and spending time with friends and family. Find her at www.authorsybiljohnson.com.

Donis Casey

Donis is the author of six Alafair Tucker Mysteries. Her award-winning series, featuring the sleuthing mother of ten children, is set in Oklahoma during the booming 1910s. Donis is a former teacher, academic librarian, and entrepreneur. She lives in Tempe, AZ, with her husband, poet Donald Koozer. The latest Alafair Tucker novel, The Wrong Hill to Die On (Poisoned Pen Press, 2012), is available in paper or electronic format wherever books are sold. Readers can enjoy the first chapter of each book on her web site at www.doniscasey.com.

John R Corrigan

John R. Corrigan is D.A. Keeley, author of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agent Peyton Cote series, which is set along the Maine-Canada border. Bitter Crossing (summer 2014) will be the first of at least three novels in the series. Born in Augusta, Maine, he lives with his wife and three daughters at Northfield Mount Hermon School in western Massachusetts, where he is English department chair, a teacher, a hockey coach, and may very well be the only mystery writer in North America who also serves as a dorm parent to 50 teenage girls. A Mainer through and through, he tries to get to Old Orchard Beach, Maine, as often as possible. You can see what he's up to by visiting www.amazon.com/author/DAKeeley or dakeeleyauthor.blogspot.com or on Twitter (@DAKeeleyAuthor).

Charlotte Hinger

Charlotte Hinger is a novelist and Western Kansas historian. Convinced that mystery writing and historical investigation go hand in hand, she now applies her MA in history to academic articles and her depraved imagination to the Lottie Albright series for Poisoned Pen Press. charlottehinger.com

Frankie Bailey

Frankie Y. Bailey is a criminal justice professor who focuses on crime, history, and American culture. Her current project is a book about dress, appearance, and criminal justice. Her mystery series featuring crime historian Lizzie Stuart is set mainly in the South. Her near-future police procedural series featuring Detective Hannah McCabe is set in Albany, New York. Visit Frankie at frankieybailey.com.

Vicki Delany/Eva Gates

Vicki Delany is one of Canada’s most prolific and varied crime writers. She is the author of more than 25 books, including the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop series, the Year Round Christmas cozy series, the Constable Molly Smith books, standalone novels of suspense, the Klondike Gold Rush series, and novellas for adult literacy. As Eva Gates, she is the author of the national bestselling Lighthouse Library cozy series from Penguin. Find Vicki at www.vickidelany.com and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/evagatesauthor/

Mario Acevedo

Mario Acevedo is the author of the Felix Gomez detective-vampire series. His short fiction is included in the anthologies, You Don’t Have A Clue: Latino Mystery Stories for Teens and Hit List: The Best of Latino Mystery, and in Modern Drunkard Magazine. Mario lives with a dog in Denver, CO. His website is marioacevedo.com.